Is Celtics' first-round draft pick finally on the right path?

Friday

Jun 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 27, 2008 at 4:36 AM

University of New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens had gone through problems at two schools in three years, a fact Coach Steve Alford was well aware of when he took over the Lobos. As the 2007-08 college basketball season progressed, though, Alford said he found himself coaching a matured player who was no trouble at all.

Jim Fenton

They were together for just one season, the player with the troubled past and the head coach in his first year on the job.

University of New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens had gone through problems at two schools in three years, a fact Coach Steve Alford was well aware of when he took over the Lobos.

As the 2007-08 college basketball season progressed, though, Alford said he found himself coaching a matured player who was no trouble at all.

"He was the model example of the type of player that I want to coach,'' said Alford in a phone interview from Albuquerque on Friday. "This is a kid who went to class every day, who was involved in about 10 community projects and who was the best player on our team at both ends of the floor.

"I think he just matured greatly. We didn't give him any rope. Kids mature at different ages, and I think he really matured.''

When Alford was contacted by Boston Celtics executive director of operations Danny Ainge in the days leading up to the NBA Draft, the Lobos coach did not hesitate to give his player a ringing endorsement.

The Celtics, the NBA champions who had the 30th and final pick in the first round of the draft on Thursday night, selected Giddens, an athletic shooting guard who was the co-player of the year in the Mountain West Conference.

Giddens was charged in 2002 with being part of a plan to steal almost $4,000 worth of electronics equipment from a Wal-Mart in his hometown of Oklahoma City. A high school senior at the time, he had the matter settled in a diversion agreement.

After his sophomore year at Kansas, Giddens, a two-year starter, was charged in connection with a bar brawl in Lawrence, Kan., in which he was stabbed in the right calf and required 30 stitches.

That led to Giddens transferring out of Kansas to New Mexico, where he was suspended late in the 2006-07 season by Coach Ritchie McKay, reportedly for an attitude problem.

According to Alford, there were no issues with Giddens in his senior season when he was fourth in the conference in scoring (16.3), first in rebounds (8.8), third in blocks (1.2) and fourth in shooting (51.6 percent).

"I have been with him for one year and I'm telling you this kid did everything he was supposed to,'' said Alford, who was a starting guard for Indiana when it won the 1987 NCAA championship under Bob Knight. "I kept saying, 'Where's this attitude everyone talks about?' I just didn't see it.

"I told Danny on the phone that this is a competitive kid who would win every single sprint in practice. That's just the way he is. He does not like to lose. He just worked his tail off all season.''

Giddens, who will be at the Celtics' practice facility in Waltham next week for a rookie-free agent camp, said on Thursday night that his past transgressions help make him the person he is today.

Alford said the effort that Giddens put into his game resulted in a solid senior season, and that had he not had past problems, Giddens would have gone much higher in the opening round.

"This was a kid who was a Parade All-American, a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school,'' Alford said. "He gets a bad rap, some of it J.R.'s own fault. Any time you leave a prestigious program like Kansas, you're going to get a label.

"That's the first impression you make, and the label doesn't leave you. If we're not talking about someone who transferred from Kansas and had a reputation, he'd be in the top 15 or 20, if people looked just at his athleticism and talent and potential.

"He was huge for us this season. He had a phenomenal season. He did everything for us. He guarded the best opponent. He could have been a 25-point scorer, but he always had tough defensive assignments.''

Whether Giddens, whose first and middle names are Justin Ray, can get playing time with a team that is coming off a championship season remains to be seen.

He will soon sign a guaranteed two-year contract worth nearly $2 million and will have a chance to continue on the right path after a shaky past. Giddens will be on a team with veteran leaders like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

"This is a kid who played for three college coaches in three years,'' Alford said. "To go through what he's gone through and to be a first-round pick in the NBA, taken by the champions, it shows what he has done.

"I think it's a perfect situation for his continued development,'' Alford said. "Ray, Paul and Kevin will take a guy like J.R. under their wing and really help J.R. understand what it is to be a pro.

"This is an absolute steal for the Celtics. He is a very, very gifted player at both ends, and it's just a great fit for J.R.''

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